On the Jio data leak: Mobile-Aadhaar linkage should be stopped, Aadhaar eKYC needs its own DSS

As we reported earlier today, a website called magicapk.com went up last evening, allowing anyone to search for personal details of Jio customers. That website has now been taken down, but issues regarding security standards, the source of this information, and the amount of information that may be made public through such leaks still persist. Read it here

India’s telecom regulator TRAI is inviting participation from companies/entities in the country to help set up a nation-wide interoperable WiFi network in form of Public Data Offices (PDOs) across the country. The new pilot project named Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (WANI) will run on a partnership model wherein small entrepreneurs and shop owners can set up WiFi hotspots (or PDOs) by acquiring bandwidth from multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and re-selling bandwidth as data to end customers at a cheaper rate. Read it here

Reliance Jio’s website has accidentally announced that Jio Fiber will roll out with a preview plan of 100Mbps connections for three months, for free. There will be an installation charge (‘refundable security deposit’) of ₹4,500, and data is capped at 100GB per month, after which speeds will be limited to 1Mbps. Read it here

What a turnaround: Airtel will allow post-paid customers to carry forward balance data

If there’s any indication that Airtel is still afraid of losing its post-paid customers to Reliance Jio, it is this: the company has said that starting August 1st, 2017, all Airtel Postpaid customers will be able to carry forward their monthly unused data into the next billing cycle. While the fine-print on this is yet to be seen (and there’s always a fine-print), this is a welcome move from Airtel. Read it here

India’s recorded music industry generated just US$0.09 per capita in trade revenues in 2016, making it the most poorly monetised music market currently being tracked (IFPI), tied in last place with the failing state of Venezuela (US$0.09), behind Indonesia (US$0.14), China (US$0.15) and the Philippines (US$0.18) (For reference, US is US$16.41, UK is US$19.42, Japan is US$21.67). Read it here

Microsoft has officially started to phase out Windows Phone

Microsoft has officially ended support for its older Windows Phone 8 operating system, almost 4 years after it purchased Nokia’s phone business (Nokia Devices, Lumia, patents) for a total amount of $ 2.7 billion in 2013. As per this support thread, Windows 8.1 will effectively become an unsupported service starting July 11th; this date was fixed in October last year. Read it here

Paytm has acquired a majority stake in Only Much Louder’s (OML) online event ticketing platform Insider.in for Rs 35 crore. OML CEO Vijay Nair confirmed this to MediaNama and said that Insider.in was performing well and they felt it was the right time to partner with Paytm, which has been doing well in the online ticketing business, to further grow the platform. Read it here

Hotstar gets Showtime content

STAR India owned video streaming service Hotstar will make content from Showtime available on their paid subscription service. The deal with Showtime parent CBS Corporation covers streaming video, on-demand content licensing and a trademark agreement for Showtime in India. Read it here

On Mumbai Police’s FIR against AIB for putting a snapchat filter on Narendra Modi’s photo

Mumbai Police has apparently registered a First Information Report against comedy group All India Bakchod, after they tweeted a photo of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (of the BJP) with a Snapchat dog filter. This is a little over a year and a month after an FIR was also registered against AIB founder Tanmay Bhat, after he posted a Snapchat video parodying playback singer Lata Mangeshkar and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Read it here

Uber and Yandex merge taxi-hailing businesses in Russia and five neighbouring countries

Online cab-hailing company Uber and Russian search engine major Yandex have agreed to merge their taxi-hailing businesses in Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia. The agreement will also include the food delivery business UberEATS. Read it here